JP7504147B2 - Initial setup method for unmanned forklift, adjustment pallet, and adjustment system for unmanned forklift - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an initial setup method for an unmanned forklift, an adjustment pallet, and an adjustment system for an unmanned forklift.

Patent Document 1 discloses an unmanned forklift configuration in which a pair of forks are provided with a reach direction pallet deviation detection device and a left/right direction pallet deviation detection device, making it possible to detect deviations in the front/rear and left/right directions as well as rotational deviations of a pallet on the forks. With this configuration, deviations of the pallet relative to the forks are detected when picking up a pallet, when lowering the held pallet onto a rack or the like, when the unmanned forklift is traveling while holding a pallet, etc.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-12297

Unmanned forklifts travel within facilities such as warehouses and factories based on preset operating programs, and pick up and unload pallets from a pallet placement unit set at a predetermined position. When a new unmanned forklift is introduced into a facility, initial setting information such as the movement path of the unmanned forklift and the position coordinates of the pallet placement unit must be set in the operating program. Information such as the movement path of the unmanned forklift and the position coordinates of the pallet placement unit is obtained based on design data for the facility and racks to be installed within the facility.

However, for example, racks installed in a facility may be misaligned with respect to design data due to the assembly accuracy of the rack itself, the installation accuracy of the rack, etc. For this reason, when a new unmanned forklift is introduced, a test run is conducted in which the unmanned forklift is operated based on a preset operating program before the unmanned forklift is officially put into operation. In this test run, the unmanned forklift actually unloads a pallet onto the pallet placement section of the rack. An operator must measure the actual placement position of the unloaded pallet and the amount of misalignment relative to the pallet placement section, and then correct information such as the position coordinates of the pallet placement section in the operating program based on the measured amount of misalignment. For this reason, it is time-consuming to measure the amount of misalignment of the unloaded pallet, which makes it time-consuming and costly to introduce an unmanned forklift.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide an initial setting method, adjustment pallet, and adjustment system for an unmanned forklift that can easily introduce an unmanned forklift and reduce the time and cost required for test runs before official operation.

In order to solve the above problems, the initial setting method for an unmanned forklift according to the present disclosure is an initial setting method when introducing an unmanned forklift to a facility equipped with a rack structure, and includes the steps of placing an adjustment pallet on a pallet placement section of the rack structure by the unmanned forklift based on a preset operating program, acquiring relative position information between the adjustment pallet and the rack structure by a position information acquisition section equipped in the adjustment pallet, and calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet placed on the rack structure relative to the pallet placement section based on the relative position information.

The adjustment pallet according to the present disclosure is an adjustment pallet used in the initial setting method of an unmanned forklift as described above, and includes a pallet body that can be supported by the forks of the unmanned forklift and placed on a rack structure, and a position information acquisition unit that is provided on the pallet body and acquires relative position information between the adjustment pallet and the rack structure on which it is placed.

The adjustment system for an unmanned forklift according to the present disclosure includes an adjustment pallet as described above, and a calculation unit that calculates the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet placed on the rack structure relative to the pallet placement unit based on the relative position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit.

The unmanned forklift initial setup method, adjustment pallet, and unmanned forklift adjustment system disclosed herein make it easy to introduce an unmanned forklift and reduce the time and cost required for test runs before official operation.

1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an unmanned transport forklift system in a facility to which an initial setting method for an unmanned forklift, an adjustment pallet, and an adjustment system for an unmanned forklift according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are applied. FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of the rack equipment installed in the facility. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the above-mentioned rack equipment. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of an adjustment system for an unmanned forklift according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an adjustment pallet constituting the adjustment system of the unmanned forklift. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. 5 . 13 is a plan view showing that the first laser displacement meter detects the laser when the adjustment pallet is in a state where the positional deviation in the first direction is small. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the second laser displacement meter detecting the laser when the adjustment pallet is significantly displaced to the second side in the first direction. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing that the adjustment pallet is significantly displaced to the first side in the first direction and the laser is detected by the intermediate laser displacement meter. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a state in which the adjustment pallet is positioned on the opposite side to FIG. 7 in the second direction. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a processing terminal constituting the adjustment system for the unmanned forklift. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the processing terminal. 1 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an initial setting method for an unmanned forklift according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a pallet position adjustment table used in the adjustment system for an unmanned forklift according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which a laser displacement meter is used to measure a distance to a part of a rack structure in order to obtain relative position information. FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a state in which a laser displacement meter is used to measure the distance to a part of the rack structure to obtain relative position information when the adjustment pallet is tilted in the opposite direction to that in FIG. 15 . This is a plan view showing the state in which a laser displacement meter is used to measure the distance to a part of the rack structure to obtain relative position information when the adjustment pallet is placed on a pallet placement section on the opposite side of the second direction from Figure 15. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a configuration of an adjustment system for an unmanned forklift according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 5 . 11 is a plan view showing an example of a mark as a reference position indicator set on a rack structure. FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of an image captured by a camera constituting the adjustment system of the unmanned forklift. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing an adjustment pallet of the adjustment system for the unmanned forklift according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the adjustment pallet. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the adjustment pallet is supported by the forks of an unmanned forklift. FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the adjustment pallet supported by the forks of an unmanned forklift. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a processing terminal constituting the adjustment system for the unmanned forklift. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the processing terminal. 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an initial setting method for an unmanned forklift according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

Below, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments for implementing the initial setting method for an unmanned forklift, the adjustment pallet, and the adjustment system for an unmanned forklift according to the present disclosure will be described. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments.

First Embodiment
(Configuration of unmanned forklift system)
Here, before describing the adjustment system 10A for the unmanned forklift, an automated guided forklift system (AGF: Automated Guided Forklift) 1 to which the adjustment system 10A for the unmanned forklift is applied will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, examples of facilities in which the unmanned forklift system 1 is installed include warehouses, factories, commercial facilities, and cargo handling facilities. In warehouses, for example, various items loaded on pallets are stored. In factories, for example, various parts and materials loaded on pallets are transported between processes in the factory. In commercial facilities, products loaded on pallets are displayed on product shelves. In cargo handling facilities, for example, cargo loaded on pallets is temporarily stored and sorted for delivery destination. Here, the pallets may include containers that can be transported by the unmanned forklift.

In the unmanned transport forklift system 1, an unmanned forklift 2 automatically travels along a predetermined route R set within a facility, and transports various items loaded on a pallet 5 within the facility. The unmanned transport forklift system 1 includes one or more unmanned forklifts 2 that can travel and move along the route R, and a system controller 3.

(Configuration of rack structure)
Such a facility is provided with rack structures 100 on which pallets 5 can be placed, on which items, parts, merchandise, cargo, etc. can be loaded. A plurality of rack structures 100 are arranged along the route R of the unmanned forklift 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the rack structure 100 is configured, for example, in a plurality of layers, one above the other. As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the rack structure 100 includes a plurality of pillars 102 provided on a floor surface F, and beam members 103 installed between adjacent pillars 102. The pillars 102 and the beam members 103 are formed, for example, from steel frame materials.

The multiple pillars 102 are arranged at a predetermined interval in the direction in which the path R extends in a horizontal plane (hereinafter, this direction is referred to as the second direction Dy). The multiple pillars 102 are arranged in pairs of front pillars 102F and rear pillars 102R at intervals in a first direction Dx perpendicular to the second direction Dy in which the path R extends in the horizontal plane. The front pillars 102F are arranged on a first side Dx1 close to the path R in the first direction Dx. The rear pillars 102R are arranged on a second side Dx2 away from the path R in the first direction Dx.

In this embodiment, the beams 103 are arranged in multiple layers at intervals in the vertical direction Dv of the rack structure 100, for example. The beams 103 include a front beam 103F, a rear beam 103R, and a side beam 103S. The front beam 103F extends in the second direction Dy and connects adjacent front columns 102F. The rear beam 103R extends in the second direction Dy and connects adjacent rear columns 102R. The side beam 103S extends in the first direction Dx and connects adjacent front beams 103F and rear beams 103R. In the upper layer 100t of the rack structure 100, each support 102 extends above the front beam 103F, rear beam 103R, and side beam 103S.

The rack structure 100 is provided with a plurality of pallet placement sections S. Each pallet placement section S can be equipped with a pallet 5. The pallet placement sections S are set on the beam material 103. In this embodiment, the pallet placement sections S are arranged in three layers, the upper layer 100t, the middle layer 100m, and the lower layer 100b, in the vertical direction Dv of the rack structure 100. In the pallet placement sections S set in the upper layer 100t and the middle layer 100m in the vertical direction Dv of the rack structure 100, the pallet 5 is placed so as to span the upper surfaces of the front beam material 103F and the rear beam material 103R. An auxiliary beam (not shown) extending in the first direction Dx may be provided between the front beam material 103F and the rear beam material 103R. In the pallet placement section S, which is set in the lower layer 100b of the rack structure 100 in the vertical direction Dv, the pallet 5 is placed directly on the floor surface F. In the pallet placement section S, which is set in the lower layer 100b of the rack structure 100, the floor surface F as the pallet placement section S functions as part of the rack structure 100.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, in the rack structure 100, in each of the upper and lower three layers, two pallet placement sections S are set side by side in the second direction Dy between the front columns 102F and the rear columns 102R adjacent to each other in the second direction Dy. That is, in each of the upper layer 100t, middle layer 100m, and lower layer 100b of the rack structure 100, between the front columns 102F and the rear columns 102R adjacent to each other in the second direction Dy, a pallet placement section SL on the first side Dy1 (left side as viewed from the path R side) of the second direction Dy and a pallet placement section SR on the second side Dy2 (right side as viewed from the path R side) of the second direction Dy are arranged.

(Configuration of unmanned forklift)
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the unmanned forklift 2 includes a forklift body 21 , a pair of forks 22 , and a forklift control unit 23 .
The forklift body 21 is configured to be capable of traveling and moving within the facility along a route R under the control of the forklift control unit 23. The forklift body 21 travels along the route R either in a guideless manner, in which the forklift body 21 travels while recognizing the position of the unmanned forklift 2 itself within the facility by using a gyro or a laser, or in a guided manner, in which the forklift body 21 travels along a guide laid along the route R.

The pair of forks 22 are provided on the forklift body 21 so that they can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction Dv. The pair of forks 22 can be inserted into a fork insertion portion (not shown) formed in the pallet 5. Under the control of the forklift control unit 23, the unmanned forklift 2 raises the pair of forks 22 with the pair of forks 22 inserted into the fork insertion portion (not shown), thereby holding the pallet 5 on the pair of forks 22.

The forklift control unit 23 controls the operation of the unmanned forklift 2 based on a preset operation program. The forklift control unit 23 is capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the system controller 3 via wireless communication means such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). The forklift control unit 23 receives commands from the system controller 3 via the wireless communication means, including position information of the pallet placement unit S, which is the loading position for loading the pallet 5 onto the forks 22, or the unloading position for the pallet 5 loaded on the forks 22. Here, the position information of the pallet placement unit S is coordinate information or the like indicating the position of the pallet placement unit S.

Based on a command received from the system controller 3, the forklift control unit 23 moves the forklift body 21 along the route R toward the pallet placement unit S, which is the loading position or unloading position. The forklift control unit 23 operates the forks 22 at the pallet placement unit S, which is the loading position or unloading position, to load the load onto the forks 22 of the pallet 5 or unload the load onto the pallet placement unit S of the pallet 5. When loading or unloading a load from the pallet placement unit S, the unmanned forklift 2 advances and retreats in a direction (first direction Dx) that intersects with the extension direction of the route R within the horizontal plane relative to the rack structure 100.

(Configuration of adjustment system for unmanned forklift)
The unmanned forklift adjustment system 10A shown in Fig. 4 is applied when the unmanned forklift 2 and the unmanned transport forklift system 1 are newly introduced to a facility. The unmanned forklift adjustment system 10A includes an adjustment pallet 50A and a processing terminal 60A.

(Configuration of adjustment palette)
As shown in Figs. 4 to 6, the adjustment pallet 50A includes a pallet body 51A and a position information acquisition unit 53A. The adjustment pallet 50A is preferably formed to have a weight of, for example, 1 t (ton), imitating a pallet 5 loaded with cargo that is actually loaded on the pallet placement section S of the rack structure 100. When the forklift body 21 of the unmanned forklift 2 is raised while holding the pallet 5 loaded with cargo, the forklift body 21 may be deflected forward due to the load. In other words, when the unmanned forklift 2 places the pallet 5 on the pallet placement section S of a different layer in the vertical direction Dv of the rack structure 100, the position of the pallet 5 relative to the rack structure 100 may differ in the first direction Dx due to the influence of the deflection deformation of the forklift body 21. Therefore, it is preferable to set the adjustment pallet 50A to a weight equivalent to that of the pallet 5 actually used, and to perform a pre-adjustment of the unmanned forklift 2, which will be described later in detail, taking into account the deflection deformation of the forklift body 21.

The pallet body 51A is rectangular in plan view and has the same size in plan view as the pallet used in the unmanned transport forklift system 1. The pallet body 51A may be smaller in plan view than the pallet used in the unmanned transport forklift system 1. For example, the size of the pallet body 51A in the second direction Dy may be shortened to avoid contact and collision with the front support 102F and the rear support 102R due to deviation in the second direction Dy. The pallet body 51A has an insertion hole 52 into which the fork 22 of the unmanned forklift 2 is inserted. This allows the pallet body 51A to be supported by the fork 22 of the unmanned forklift 2. The pallet body 51A can be placed on the pallet placement section S of the rack structure 100.

The position information acquisition unit 53A is provided on the pallet body 51A. The position information acquisition unit 53A acquires relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50A and the rack structure 100 when the adjustment pallet 50A is placed on the pallet placement unit S. In this embodiment, the position information acquisition unit 53A includes a laser displacement meter 55 and a data transmission unit 56.

The laser displacement meter 55 measures the distance to the rack structure 100 by irradiating a part of the rack structure 100 with a laser. On the rack structure 100 side, a reflecting section 105 that reflects the laser emitted by the laser displacement meter 55 is set on each pallet placement section S. The reflecting section 105 is set, for example, on a part of the surface of the front support 102F and the rear support 102R. When the laser emitted by the laser displacement meter 55 is irradiated onto the surface of the front support 102F and the rear support 102R, the laser is reflected by the surface of the front support 102F and the rear support 102R toward the laser displacement meter 55. In this case, the surfaces of the front support 102F and the rear support 102R function as the reflecting section 105 by reflecting the laser emitted by the laser displacement meter 55. That is, a part of the rack structure 100 is used as the reflecting section 105 without separately installing a reflecting object that functions as the reflecting section 105 on the rack structure 100 side. Also, as the reflecting section 105, a reflector made of a material that reflects laser may be attached to a predetermined position of the rack structure 100, for example, by a magnet, when performing initial setup of the unmanned forklift 2.

In this embodiment, the laser displacement meter 55 includes a first laser displacement meter 551, a second laser displacement meter 552, an intermediate laser displacement meter 553, and third laser displacement meter 554, 555. The first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 are respectively arranged on both sides of the second direction Dy in the pallet body 51A.

The first laser displacement meter 551 is arranged on the pallet body 51A on the first side (the side closer to the route R) in the forward/backward direction (first direction Dx) of the unmanned forklift 2 relative to the rack structure 100. The second laser displacement meter 552 is arranged on the pallet body 51A on the second side Dx2 (the side away from the route R) in the first direction Dx. The intermediate laser displacement meter 553 is arranged between the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 on the pallet body 51A. The intermediate laser displacement meter 553 is arranged in a position biased toward the first laser displacement meter 551 side relative to the second laser displacement meter 552 in the first direction Dx.

The first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 each detect a part of the rack structure 100 located in the second direction Dy relative to the pallet body 51A. The first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 detect a laser reflected by a reflecting portion 105 provided on a support 102 (front support 102F, rear support 102R) which is a part of the rack structure 100. When the first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 detect a laser reflected by the reflecting portion 105, they each detect a distance to the reflecting portion 105. In this embodiment, the reflecting portion 105 is arranged, for example, on the front support 102F, the rear support 102R, and the rear beam material 103R. The reflecting section 105 is disposed on the side of the front support 102F and the rear support 102R that faces the pallet placement section S in the second direction Dy.

The first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 detect the reflecting parts 105 arranged on the front support 102F and the rear support 102R located to the sides in the second direction Dy when the adjustment pallet 50A is loaded onto the pallet placement section S by the unmanned forklift 2.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the positional deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A relative to the pallet mounting portion S in the first direction Dx is small, only the first laser displacement meter 551 detects the reflecting portion 105 of the front support 102F, and the laser passes through the second laser displacement meter 552 and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 without hitting the front support 102F and the rear support 102R.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when the adjustment pallet 50A is significantly misaligned with respect to the pallet placement section S toward the second side Dx2 in the first direction Dx (the side away from the path R), only the second laser displacement meter 552 detects the reflecting portion 105 of the rear support 102R, and the laser passes through the first laser displacement meter 551 and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 without hitting the front support 102F.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when the adjustment pallet 50A is significantly misaligned to the first side Dx1 (pathway R side) of the first direction Dx relative to the pallet placement section S, only the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 detects the reflecting portion 105 of the front support 102F, and the laser passes through the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 without hitting the front support 102F and the rear support 102R.

The first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 can detect the presence or absence of the rack structure 100 only within a predetermined distance range. As shown in FIG. 7, when the adjustment pallet 50A is mounted on the pallet placement section SL on the first side Dy1 (left side as viewed from the route R) of the second direction Dy between the front columns 102F and the rear columns 102R adjacent to each other in the second direction Dy, the laser reflected by the reflecting section 105 is received only by the first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 arranged on the first side Dy1 of the second direction Dy. As shown in FIG. 10, when the adjustment pallet 50A is mounted on the pallet placement section SR on the second side Dy2 (left side as viewed from the path R) of the second direction Dy between the front columns 102F and the rear columns 102R adjacent to each other in the second direction Dy, the laser reflected by the reflector 105 is received only by the first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 arranged on the second side Dy2 of the second direction Dy.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the third laser displacement meters 554 and 555 emit a laser diagonally downward toward the second side Dx2 of the first direction Dx along the forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2 relative to the rack structure 100. The third laser displacement meters 554 and 555 are arranged, for example, at the bottom of the pallet body 51A. However, depending on the shape and size of the product, they may be installed in a position that does not interfere with the fork 22, for example, on the top of the pallet. The third laser displacement meters 554 and 555 are arranged at intervals in the second direction Dy. When the laser emitted diagonally downward toward the second side Dx2 of the first direction Dx is reflected by the reflecting unit 105 attached to the rear beam material 103R so as to face the first side Dx1 of the first direction Dx, the third laser displacement meters 554 and 555 detect the distance to the reflecting unit 105.

The data transmission unit 56 outputs data indicating the distance detected by each of the laser displacement meters 55 (first laser displacement meter 551, second laser displacement meter 552, intermediate laser displacement meter 553, third laser displacement meter 554, 555) as relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50A and the rack structure 100. As shown in FIG. 4, the data transmission unit 56 transmits the relative position information to the processing terminal 60A via wireless communication, such as a wireless LAN.

(Configuration of processing terminal)
The processing terminal 60A executes a process for calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A with respect to the pallet placement section S based on the relative position information transmitted from the adjustment pallet 50A. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the processing terminal 60A calculates the amount of deviation between the pallet side reference position Ps set on the adjustment pallet 50A and the rack side reference position Q1 set on the pallet placement section S side. In this embodiment, the pallet side reference position Ps is set, for example, at the center in the second direction Dy on the end face of the first side Dx1 of the first direction Dx in the pallet main body 51A. In this embodiment, the rack side reference position Q1 is set, for example, at the center in the second direction Dy on the end of the first side Dx1 of the first direction Dx in each pallet placement section S. Note that in FIG. 5, the adjustment pallet 50A is not misaligned with the pallet placement section S, and the pallet side reference position Ps and the rack side reference position Q1 match.

(Hardware configuration diagram)
11 , the processing terminal 60A is a computer including a central processing unit (CPU) 61, a read only memory (ROM) 62, a random access memory (RAM) 63, a storage device 64 such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and a signal transmission/reception module 65. The processing terminal 60A is a portable computer terminal such as a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or a notebook personal computer.

(Function block diagram)
As shown in FIG. 12, a CPU 61 of a processing terminal 60A is provided with components of an input unit 71, a calculation unit 72A, and an output unit 73 by executing a program stored in advance in the processing terminal 60A.
The input unit 71 is a signal transmission/reception module 65 in terms of hardware, and receives data from the adjustment pallet 50A. The calculation unit 72A executes a process of calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A with respect to the pallet placement unit S, based on the relative position information. The output unit 73 is a signal transmission/reception module 65 in terms of hardware, and transmits the calculated amount of deviation to the system controller 3 via wireless communication such as a wireless LAN.

(Initial setup procedure for an unmanned forklift)
As shown in FIG. 13, the initial setting method S11 of the unmanned forklift 2 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a step S12 of placing the adjustment pallet 50A on the pallet mounting section S, a step S13 of acquiring relative position information, a step S14 of calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A relative to the pallet mounting section S, and a step S15 of correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift.

When performing the initial setting method S11 for the unmanned forklift 2, prior to step S12 of placing the adjustment pallet 50A on the pallet placement section S, the pair of forks 22 of the unmanned forklift 2 are inserted into the insertion holes 52 of the adjustment pallet 50A to support the adjustment pallet 50A. At this time, it is preferable to minimize the positional deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A relative to the pair of forks 22. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 14, it is preferable to insert the pair of forks 22 into the insertion holes 52 of the adjustment pallet 50A with the adjustment pallet 50A placed on the pallet position adjustment table 200.

The pallet position adjustment table 200 includes an adjustment table main body 201 and a plurality of spherical rollers 202. The adjustment table main body 201 is installed on the floor surface F. The plurality of spherical rollers 202 are arranged on the upper surface of the adjustment table main body 201. Each spherical roller 202 is a ball of a so-called ball bearing, and is supported rotatably by the adjustment table main body 201. With the adjustment pallet 50A placed on the plurality of spherical rollers 202 of the pallet position adjustment table 200, a pair of forks 22 is inserted into the insertion hole 52 of the adjustment pallet 50A. At this time, the position of the adjustment pallet 50A is adjusted on the plurality of spherical rollers 202 so that the center of the adjustment pallet 50A is aligned with the center of the pair of forks 22 in the second direction Dy. Even if the adjustment pallet 50A has a weight of about 1 t as described above, the plurality of spherical rollers 202 make it possible to manually adjust the position in the horizontal direction.

In step S12, the adjustment pallet 50A is placed on the pallet placement section S by the unmanned forklift 2 operating based on a preset operation program, and the adjustment pallet 50A is placed on the pallet placement section S to be initially set among the multiple pallet placement sections S set on the multiple rack structures 100 in the facility. For this, the position coordinates of the pallet placement section S are transmitted to the unmanned forklift 2 as a destination by a command from the system controller 3. The unmanned forklift 2 moves toward the destination pallet placement section S along the route R with the adjustment pallet 50A loaded on the fork 22. After reaching the destination pallet placement section S, the unmanned forklift 2 changes the direction of the forklift body 21 so that it faces the pallet placement section S. Next, the unmanned forklift 2 raises and lowers the fork 22 to adjust the adjustment pallet 50A loaded on the fork 22 to the height of the destination pallet placement section S. The unmanned forklift 2 advances from the first side Dx1 (route R side) in the first direction Dx toward the second side, and places the loaded adjustment pallet 50A on the pallet placement section S at the position coordinates of the destination pallet placement section S.

In step S13 of acquiring relative position information, the multiple laser displacement meters 55 of the position information acquisition unit 53A acquire relative position information between the placed adjustment pallet 50A and the rack structure 100. To do this, first, as shown in FIG. 15, the first laser displacement meter 551 detects the distance L11 to the reflector 105 provided on the front support 102F. If the first laser displacement meter 551 cannot detect the reflection from the reflector 105, the second laser displacement meter 552 or the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 may detect the reflection from the reflector 105 to detect the distance to the reflector 105 located on the rear support 102R or the front support 102F.

In addition, in step S13, the third laser displacement meters 554, 555 detect the distances L12, L13 to the reflector 105 provided on the rear beam 103R. In step S13, the position information acquisition unit 53A non-contact measures the distances L11, L12, L13 to the rack structure 100 on which the adjustment pallet 50A is placed as relative position information.

In step S13, the data on the distances L11, L12, and L13 detected by the first laser displacement meter 551 and the third laser displacement meter 554 and 555 are transmitted as relative position information by the data transmission unit 56 to the processing terminal 60A. In the processing terminal 60A, the data on the distances L11, L12, and L13 are received as relative position information by the input unit 71.

In step S14, which calculates the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A relative to the pallet placement section S, the calculation section 72A calculates the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A placed on the rack structure 100 relative to the pallet placement section S based on the relative position information acquired by the position information acquisition section 53A. In step S14, the amount of deviation ΔX in the first direction Dx, the amount of deviation ΔY in the second direction Dy, and the amount of deviation Δθ in the rotational direction Dc about the vertical axis are calculated as the amount of deviation of the rack side reference position Q1 of the pallet placement section S relative to the pallet side reference position Ps of the adjustment pallet 50A.

In step S14, first, the amount of deviation Δθ in the rotational direction Dc of the adjustment pallet 50A is calculated based on the distances L12 and L13 detected by the third laser displacement meters 554 and 555, using the following formula (1).
Δθ=tan ⁻¹ (L12−L13)/D1 ・・・(1)
Here, D1 is the distance (known) in the second direction Dy between the third laser displacement meters 554 and 555. Here, as shown in Fig. 16, if the distance L13 detected by the third laser displacement meter 555 is greater than the distance L12 detected by the third laser displacement meter 554, Δθ becomes a negative value.

In step S14, the deviation amounts ΔY and ΔX of the pallet side reference position Ps of the adjustment pallet 50A relative to the rack side reference position Q1 are calculated based on the distance L11 detected by the first laser displacement meter 551. As shown in Figures 15 and 16, when the pallet placement part S is the pallet placement part SL located on the first side Dy1 in the second direction Dy, the deviation amounts ΔY and ΔX are calculated by the following formulas (2) and (3).
ΔY=L11·cosΔθ+D3·cosΔθ-D2·sin(-Δθ)-D4 (2)
ΔX={(L12-L12_0)·cosΔθ+(L13-L13_0)·cosΔθ}/2 ... (3)
Here, D2 is the distance (known) between the first laser displacement meter 551 and the pallet side reference position Ps in the second direction Dy. D3 is the distance (known) between the first laser displacement meter 551 and the pallet side reference position Ps in the first direction Dx. D4 is the distance (known) between the front support 102F and the rack side reference position Q1 in the second direction Dy. L12_0, L13_0 are the distances L12, L13 when the adjustment pallet 50A (50B, 50C) is unloaded onto the correct pallet placement section S (SL, SR).

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 17, when the pallet placement part S is a pallet placement part SR located on the second side Dy2 in the second direction Dy, the deviation amount ΔY is calculated by the following equations (4) and (5).
ΔY=D4-L11·cosΔθ-D3·cosΔθ+D2·sin(Δθ) ... (4)
ΔX={(L12-L12_0)·cosΔθ+(L13-L13_0)·cosΔθ}/2 ... (5)

The calculated data on the deviation amount (ΔX, ΔY, Δθ) of the adjustment pallet 50A relative to the pallet placement section S is output by the output section 73 to the system controller 3 via wireless communication.

In step S15, the operation program of the unmanned forklift is corrected based on the calculated deviation amount. In step S15, the system controller 3 receives the deviation amount data output from the processing terminal 60A. Based on the received deviation amount data, the system controller 3 corrects the position coordinates of the pallet placement unit S in the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2. At this time, the correction of the position coordinates of the pallet placement unit S in the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 may be performed automatically by the program of the system controller 3, or the operator of the system controller 3 may manually input a numerical value or the like for correcting the position coordinates of the pallet placement unit S. In addition, a numerical value that makes the deviation amount 0 may be input, or the deviation amount may be stored separately and the value may be corrected during control to operate.

By carrying out the above-described series of steps S12 to S15 for all pallet placement units S within the facility, the initial settings for all pallet placement units S can be performed.

(Action and Effect)
In the initial setting method S11 for the unmanned forklift 2 configured as above, when the unmanned forklift 2 is introduced into a facility equipped with a rack structure 100, the adjustment pallet 50A is actually placed on the pallet placement section S of the rack structure 100 by the unmanned forklift 2. The position information acquisition section 53A acquires relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50A placed on the pallet placement section S and the rack structure 100. Based on the acquired relative position information, the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A relative to the pallet placement section S is calculated. This makes it possible to grasp the amount of deviation when the unmanned forklift 2 places the pallet 5 carrying the articles on the pallet placement section S of the rack structure 100. By correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the grasped amount of deviation, the initial setting when the unmanned forklift 2 is introduced into the facility can be easily performed. In addition, since the position information acquisition unit 53A is provided on the adjustment pallet 50A, there is no need to provide a sensor or the like for detecting the amount of deviation from the adjustment pallet 50A on the rack structure 100 side in each of the multiple pallet placement units S set on the rack structure 100. Therefore, the unmanned forklift 2 can be easily introduced, and the time and cost required for test runs before official operation can be reduced.

The position information acquisition unit 53A also measures the distance to the rack structure 100 in a non-contact manner as relative position information. This makes it possible to easily and quickly acquire relative position information.

In addition, in the calculation step S14, the amount of deviation ΔX in the first direction Dx and the amount of deviation ΔY in the second direction Dy are calculated as the amount of deviation.
This makes it possible to obtain the amounts of deviation ΔX, ΔY of the adjustment pallet 50A in the horizontal plane relative to the pallet placement portion S.

In step S14, the amount of deviation Δθ in the rotation direction Dc around the vertical axis is calculated as the amount of deviation.
This makes it possible to obtain the deviation amount Δθ in the rotation direction Dc in addition to the deviation amounts ΔX and ΔY in the horizontal plane. Therefore, it becomes possible to correct the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 with higher accuracy.

The operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 is corrected based on the calculated amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A from the pallet placement section S. As a result, after the correction, the unmanned forklift 2 operating based on the operation program can align the pallet 5 with the pallet placement section S with high accuracy.

The adjustment pallet 50A having the above-described configuration includes a position information acquisition unit 53A that acquires relative position information with respect to the rack structure 100 on which the adjustment pallet 50A is placed.
By using such an adjustment pallet 50A, it is possible to carry out the above-mentioned initial setting method S11 of the unmanned forklift 2. Since the position information acquisition unit 53A is provided in the adjustment pallet 50A, it is not necessary to provide a sensor or the like for detecting the amount of deviation from the adjustment pallet 50A on the rack structure 100 side in each of the multiple pallet placement units S set in the rack structure 100. Therefore, it is possible to easily introduce the unmanned forklift 2 and reduce the time and cost required for test runs before official operation.

The position information acquisition unit 53A also includes a laser displacement meter 55 .
This allows the laser displacement meter 55 to measure the distance to the rack structure 100 in a non-contact manner as relative position information, thereby making it possible to easily and quickly obtain the relative position information.

The adjustment pallet 50A detects the front support 102F, which is part of the rack structure 100, with a first laser displacement meter 551 arranged on a first side Dx1 in the first direction Dx, and detects the rear support 102R, which is another part of the rack structure 100, with a second laser displacement meter 552 arranged on a second side Dx2 in the first direction Dx. This makes it possible to obtain the position of the adjustment pallet 50A in the first direction Dx relative to the rack structure 100 as relative position information based on the detection results of the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552.

In addition, since the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 are provided on both sides of the second direction Dy, relative position information of the pallet body 51A with respect to the rack structure 100 can be obtained on both sides of the second direction Dy. At this time, each of the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 can detect the presence or absence of the rack structure 100 only within a predetermined distance range. When the distance between the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 and the rack structure 100 on both sides of the second direction Dy is within a range in which the presence of the rack structure 100 can be detected by the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552, the relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50A and the rack structure 100 can be obtained. When the adjustment pallet 50A is placed on the pallet placement section SL on the first side Dy1 of the second direction Dy, the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 arranged on the first side Dy1 of the second direction Dy detect the members of the rack structure 100 on the first side Dy1 of the second direction Dy. Also, when the adjustment pallet 50A is placed on the pallet placement section SR on the second side Dy2 of the second direction Dy, the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 arranged on the second side Dy2 of the second direction Dy detect the members of the rack structure 100 on the second side Dy2 of the second direction Dy. In this way, with one adjustment pallet 50A, it is possible to obtain the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A on both the pallet placement section S on the first side Dy1 of the second direction Dy and the pallet placement section S on the second side Dy2 of the second direction Dy.

In addition, the position information acquisition unit 53A further includes a third laser displacement meter 555.
The third laser displacement meter 555 emits a laser toward the second side Dx2 in the first direction Dx. This makes it possible to detect the presence of a member of the rack structure 100 located diagonally below the second side Dx2 in the first direction Dx of the adjustment pallet 50A by the third laser displacement meter 555. This makes it possible to obtain relative position information of the rack structure 100 with respect to the member of the rack structure 100 located diagonally below the second side Dx2 in the first direction Dx of the adjustment pallet 50A.

The adjustment system 10A of the unmanned forklift 2 configured as described above includes an adjustment pallet 50A and a calculation unit 72A that calculates the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A placed on the rack structure 100 relative to the pallet mounting portion S based on the relative position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 53A.
In this adjustment system 10A for the unmanned forklift 2, the calculation unit 72A can calculate the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A placed on the rack structure 100 from the pallet placement portion S based on the relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50A and the rack structure 100 acquired by the position information acquisition unit 53A of the adjustment pallet 50A. Therefore, the unmanned forklift 2 can be easily introduced, and the time and cost required for test runs before official operation can be reduced.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the initial setting method for an unmanned forklift, the adjustment pallet, and the adjustment system for an unmanned forklift according to the present disclosure will be described. In the second embodiment described below, the same reference numerals are given to the components common to the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the second embodiment, the configuration of the adjustment pallet is different from that of the first embodiment.

(Configuration of adjustment system for unmanned forklift)
The unmanned forklift adjustment system 10B is applied when the unmanned forklift 2 and the unmanned transport forklift system 1 are newly introduced to a facility. As shown in Fig. 18, the unmanned forklift adjustment system 10B includes an adjustment pallet 50B and a processing terminal 60B.

(Configuration of adjustment palette)
18 and 19, the adjustment pallet 50B includes a pallet body 51B and a position information acquisition unit 53B. The pallet body 51B is rectangular in plan view, and has the same size in plan view as the pallet used in the unmanned transport forklift system 1. The pallet body 51B has insertion holes 52 into which the forks 22 of the unmanned forklift 2 are inserted. This allows the pallet body 51B to be supported by the forks 22 of the unmanned forklift 2. The pallet body 51B can be placed on the pallet placement unit S of the rack structure 100.

The position information acquisition unit 53B is provided on the pallet body 51B. The position information acquisition unit 53B acquires relative position information with respect to the rack structure 100 when the adjustment pallet 50B is placed on the pallet placement unit S. In this embodiment, the position information acquisition unit 53B includes a camera 57 and a data transmission unit 56.

The camera 57 photographs the reference position display section M, which indicates the rack side reference position in the rack structure 100. The reference position display section M is set on the rack structure 100. As shown in FIG. 20, in this embodiment, the reference position display section M has marks M1 and M2 set on the rack structure 100. The marks M1 and M2 are formed, for example, on the upper surface of the front beam material 103F corresponding to each pallet placement section S. It is preferable that the marks M1 and M2 have different shapes, dimensions, etc. so that the marks M1 and M2 can be distinguished from each other. In this embodiment, for example, one mark M1 is circular in a plan view, and the other mark M2 is rectangular in a plan view. The marks M1 and M2 may be attached to predetermined positions of the rack structure 100 by, for example, a magnet, when performing initial setting of the unmanned forklift 2.

In this embodiment, the camera 57 is positioned so that it can photograph marks M1 and M2 when the adjustment pallet 50B is placed on the pallet placement section S. For example, in this embodiment, a cutout recess 51k is formed in the pallet body 51B so that marks M1 and M2 are exposed upward when the adjustment pallet 50B is placed on the pallet placement section S. The camera 57 is supported on the pallet body 51B via a support member 59. The camera 57 is positioned so that it can photograph marks M1 and M2 from vertically above. As shown in FIG. 21, the camera 57 captures an image 300 of an area including a reference position display section M that indicates the rack-side reference position in the rack structure 100.

The data transmission unit 56 outputs the data of the image 300 captured by the camera 57 as relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50B and the rack structure 100. The data transmission unit 56 transmits the relative position information to the processing terminal 60B via wireless communication, such as a wireless LAN.

(Configuration of processing terminal)
The processing terminal 60B executes a process of calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B with respect to the pallet placement section S based on the relative position information transmitted from the adjustment pallet 50B. The processing terminal 60B calculates, for example, the amount of deviation between the pallet side reference position Pt set on the adjustment pallet 50B and the rack side reference position Q2 set on the pallet placement section S side. In this embodiment, the pallet side reference position Pt is set, for example, in the image 300 captured by the camera 57. The pallet side reference position Pt is set to a position that matches the rack side reference position Q2 when the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B with respect to the pallet placement section S is 0. In this embodiment, the rack side reference position Q2 is set, for example, to the center position between the center point of one mark M1 and the center point of the other mark M2.

(Hardware configuration diagram)
11 , the processing terminal 60B is a computer including a central processing unit (CPU) 61, a read only memory (ROM) 62, a random access memory (RAM) 63, a storage device 64 such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and a signal transmission/reception module 65. The processing terminal 60B is a portable computer terminal such as a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or a notebook personal computer.

(Function block diagram)
As shown in FIG. 12, the CPU 61 of the processing terminal 60B is provided with components of an input unit 71, a calculation unit 72B, and an output unit 73 by executing a program stored in advance in the processing terminal 60B.
The input unit 71 is a signal transmission/reception module 65 in terms of hardware, and receives data from the adjustment pallet 50B. The calculation unit 72B executes a process of calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B with respect to the pallet placement unit S, based on the relative position information. The output unit 73 is a signal transmission/reception module 65 in terms of hardware, and transmits the calculated amount of deviation to the system controller 3 via wireless communication such as a wireless LAN.

(Initial setup procedure for an unmanned forklift)
As shown in FIG. 13, the initial setting method S21 of the unmanned forklift 2 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a step S22 of placing the adjustment pallet 50B on the pallet mounting section S, a step S23 of acquiring relative position information, a step S24 of calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B relative to the pallet mounting section S, and a step S25 of correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift.

In step S22, the adjustment pallet 50B is placed on the pallet placement section S by the unmanned forklift 2 operating based on a preset operation program, and the adjustment pallet 50B is placed on the pallet placement section S to be initially set among the multiple pallet placement sections S set on the multiple rack structures 100 in the facility. For this, the position coordinates of the pallet placement section S are transmitted to the unmanned forklift 2 as a destination by a command from the system controller 3. The unmanned forklift 2 moves toward the destination pallet placement section S along the route R with the adjustment pallet 50B loaded on the fork 22. After reaching the destination pallet placement section S, the unmanned forklift 2 changes the direction of the forklift body 21 so that it faces the pallet placement section S. Next, the unmanned forklift 2 raises and lowers the fork 22 to adjust the adjustment pallet 50B loaded on the fork 22 to the height of the destination pallet placement section S. The unmanned forklift 2 advances from the first side Dx1 (route R side) in the first direction Dx toward the second side, and places the loaded adjustment pallet 50B on the pallet placement section S at the position coordinates of the destination pallet placement section S.

In step S23 of acquiring relative position information, the camera 57 of the position information acquisition unit 53B acquires relative position information between the placed adjustment pallet 50B and the rack structure 100. To do this, the camera 57 captures an image 300 of an area including marks M1 and M2 as reference position indicator M arranged on the upper surface of the front beam material 103F of the rack structure 100. In this way, in step S23, the position information acquisition unit 53B acquires the image 300 as relative position information in a non-contact manner.

In step S23, data of the image 300 captured by the camera 57 is transmitted as relative position information to the processing terminal 60B by the data transmission unit 56. The processing terminal 60B receives the data of the image 300 as relative position information by the input unit 71.

In step S24, which calculates the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B relative to the pallet placement section S, the calculation section 72B calculates the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B placed on the rack structure 100 relative to the pallet placement section S based on the relative position information acquired by the position information acquisition section 53B. In step S24, as shown in FIG. 21, the amount of deviation between the pallet side reference position Pt and the rack side reference position Q2 is calculated based on the data of the image 300. As the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B relative to the pallet placement section S, the amount of deviation ΔX in the first direction Dx, the amount of deviation ΔY in the second direction Dy, and the amount of deviation Δθ in the rotational direction Dc about the vertical axis are calculated.

In step S24, first, the calculation unit 72B performs image processing on the image 300 captured by the camera 57 to calculate the center position coordinates (X21, Y21) of mark M1 and the center position coordinates (X22, Y22) of mark M2, with the pallet side reference position Pt in the image 300 as the origin.
Next, the calculation unit 72B calculates the position coordinates (Xc, Yc) of the center point between the marks M1 and M2, which is the rack-side reference position Q2, using the following equations (6) and (7).
ΔX=Xc=(X21+X22)/2 ... (6)
ΔY=Yc=(Y21+Y22)/2 (7)
Furthermore, the calculation unit 72B calculates the deviation amount Δθc of the adjustment pallet 50B with respect to the pallet placement portion S in the rotation direction Dc about the vertical axis by the following formula (8).
Δθc=tan ⁻¹ ((X21−X22)/D11) (8)
Here, D11 is the distance in the second direction Dy between the center point of the mark M1 and the center point of the mark M2.

The calculated data on the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B relative to the pallet placement section S is output by the output section 73 to the system controller 3 via wireless communication.

In step S25 of correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift, the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 is corrected based on the calculated amount of deviation. In step S25, the system controller 3 receives the data on the amount of deviation output from the processing terminal 60B. The system controller 3 corrects the position coordinates of the pallet placement unit S in the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the received data on the amount of deviation. At this time, the correction of the position coordinates of the pallet placement unit S in the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 may be performed automatically by the program of the system controller 3, or the operator of the system controller 3 may manually input numerical values for correcting the position coordinates of the pallet placement unit S.

By carrying out the above-described series of steps S22 to S25 for all pallet placement units S within the facility, the initial settings for all pallet placement units S can be performed.

(Action and Effect)
In the initial setting method S21 for the unmanned forklift 2 configured as above, when the unmanned forklift 2 is introduced into a facility equipped with a rack structure 100, the adjustment pallet 50B is actually placed on the pallet placement section S of the rack structure 100 by the unmanned forklift 2. The relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50B placed on the pallet placement section S and the rack structure 100 is acquired by the position information acquisition section 53B. Based on the acquired relative position information, the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B with respect to the pallet placement section S is calculated. This makes it possible to grasp the amount of deviation that occurs when the unmanned forklift 2 places a pallet carrying an article on the pallet placement section S of the rack structure 100. By correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the grasped amount of deviation, the initial setting when the unmanned forklift 2 is introduced into the facility can be easily performed. In addition, since the position information acquisition unit 53B is provided on the adjustment pallet 50B, there is no need to provide a sensor or the like for detecting the amount of deviation from the adjustment pallet 50B on the rack structure 100 side in each of the multiple pallet placement units S set on the rack structure 100. Therefore, the unmanned forklift 2 can be easily introduced, and the time and cost required for test runs before official operation can be reduced.

In addition, the position information acquisition unit 53B can capture an image 300 including the reference position display unit M set on the rack structure 100 as relative position information, thereby calculating the amount of deviation of the rack side reference position Q2 from the pallet side reference position Pt set on the adjustment pallet 50B.

In addition, by setting marks M1 and M2 as the reference position display section M on the rack structure 100, the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B in the horizontal plane relative to the pallet placement section S can be obtained.

In addition, by setting multiple marks M1 and M2 as the reference position display section M on the rack structure 100, it is possible to obtain the deviation amount Δθc in the rotation direction Dc of the adjustment pallet 50B in addition to the deviation amount in the horizontal plane relative to the pallet placement section S. This makes it possible to correct the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 with higher accuracy.

The adjustment pallet 50B having the above-described configuration includes a position information acquisition unit 53B that acquires relative position information with respect to the rack structure 100 on which the adjustment pallet 50B is placed.
By using such an adjustment pallet 50B, it is possible to carry out the above-mentioned initial setting method S21 for the unmanned forklift 2. Since the position information acquisition unit 53B is provided in the adjustment pallet 50B, it is not necessary to provide a sensor or the like for detecting the amount of deviation from the adjustment pallet 50B on the rack structure 100 side in each of the multiple pallet placement units S set in the rack structure 100. Therefore, it is possible to easily introduce the unmanned forklift 2 and reduce the time and cost required for test runs before official operation.

Furthermore, the position information acquisition unit 53B includes a camera 57 that captures images of the marks M1 and M2.
Thereby, by taking an image 300 including marks M1 and M2 with camera 57, it is possible to obtain the amount of deviation of adjustment pallet 50B with respect to pallet mounting portion S. Therefore, it is possible to easily and quickly obtain relative position information.

The adjustment system 10B of the unmanned forklift 2 configured as described above includes an adjustment pallet 50B and a calculation unit 72B that calculates the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B placed on the rack structure 100 relative to the pallet mounting portion S based on the relative position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 53B.
In this adjustment system 10B for the unmanned forklift 2, a calculation unit 72B can calculate the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B placed on the rack structure 100 from the pallet placement portion S based on relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50B and the rack structure 100 acquired by a position information acquisition unit 53B of the adjustment pallet 50B. Therefore, the unmanned forklift 2 can be easily introduced, and the time and cost required for test runs before official operation can be reduced.

Third Embodiment
Next, a third embodiment of the unmanned forklift initial setting method, adjustment pallet, and adjustment system for the unmanned forklift according to the present disclosure will be described. In the third embodiment described below, components common to the first and second embodiments are given the same reference numerals in the drawings and will not be described. In the third embodiment, the configuration for adjusting the positional deviation between the adjustment pallet and the unmanned forklift is different from that of the first and second embodiments.

(Configuration of adjustment system for unmanned forklift)
The unmanned forklift adjustment system 10C shown in Fig. 4 is applied when the unmanned forklift 2 and the unmanned transport forklift system 1 are newly introduced to a facility. The unmanned forklift adjustment system 10C includes an adjustment pallet 50C and a system controller 3C.

(Configuration of adjustment palette)
22 and 23, the adjustment pallet 50C includes a pallet body 51A and a position information acquisition unit 53C. The adjustment pallet 50C is preferably formed to have a weight of, for example, about 1 ton, simulating the pallet 5 (see FIG. 2) carrying luggage that is actually placed on the pallet placement unit S of the rack structure 100.

The position information acquisition unit 53C is provided on the pallet body 51A. As in the first embodiment, the position information acquisition unit 53C acquires relative position information with respect to the rack structure 100 when the adjustment pallet 50C is placed on the pallet placement unit S. In addition, the position information acquisition unit 53C in this embodiment acquires relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 when the adjustment pallet 50C has been unloaded. In this embodiment, the position information acquisition unit 53C includes a laser displacement meter 55C, a data transmission unit 56C, and a displacement meter controller 58.

In this embodiment, the laser displacement meter 55C includes a first laser displacement meter 551, a second laser displacement meter 552, an intermediate laser displacement meter 553, third laser displacement meter 554, 555, a fourth laser displacement meter 556, and a fifth laser displacement meter 557. The first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, the intermediate laser displacement meter 553, and the fourth laser displacement meter 556 are arranged on both sides of the second direction Dy in the pallet body 51A.

As in the first embodiment, the first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 measure the distance to the rack structure 100 by irradiating a laser onto a part of the rack structure 100. As shown in FIG. 5, on the rack structure 100 side, a reflecting section 105 that reflects the laser emitted by the first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 is set on each pallet placement section S. The reflecting section 105 is set, for example, on a part of the surface of the front support 102F and the rear support 102R.

As shown in Figures 24 and 25, the fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 measure the amount of positional deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2 when the adjustment pallet 50C is unloaded by irradiating a part of the unmanned forklift 2 with a laser. The fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 are disposed on the first side Dx1 of the first direction Dx in the pallet body 51A.

The fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 measure the distance to the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 as relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2. The unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 is set on the unmanned forklift 2 and indicates the unmanned forklift side reference position on the unmanned forklift 2. In this embodiment, a forward surface 91 and a side surface 92 are set as the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90.

The forward surface 91 is set on the fork 22 of the unmanned forklift 2. Each fork 22 of the unmanned forklift 2 is formed in an L-shape when viewed from the width direction (second direction Dy) of the forklift body 21. Each fork 22 has a pallet support part 22a that is inserted into the insertion hole 52 of the pallet body 51A, and a fork base part 22b that extends upward from the base end part of the pallet support part 22a and is supported on the forklift body 21 so as to be movable up and down. The forward surface 91 as the unmanned forklift side reference position indicator 90 is a surface of the fork base part 22b that faces the first side Dx1 (forward) in the first direction Dx.

In addition, in the forklift body 21 of the unmanned forklift 2, the straddle leg 21s along the floor surface is provided with a plate-shaped reflective member 93. The reflective member 93 rises upward from the straddle leg 21s. The lateral surface 92 serving as the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 is formed on the reflective member 93 facing the second direction Dy.

The fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 each detect a part of the unmanned forklift 2 to measure the amount of positional deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2 when picking up the goods.
25, the fourth laser displacement meter 556 measures distances Bx1, Bx2 to the forward surfaces 91 of the pair of forks 22 by irradiating a laser on the forward surface 91 serving as the unmanned forklift side reference position indicator 90 along the second side Dx2 of the first direction Dx. In this embodiment, a pair of the fourth laser displacement meter 556 is arranged at an interval in the second direction Dy in accordance with the pair of forks 22. From the difference between the distances Bx1, Bx2 to the forward surfaces 91 of the forks 22 measured by the pair of fourth laser displacement meter 556, it is also possible to detect a rotational deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C around the vertical axis relative to the unmanned forklift 2.

The fifth laser displacement meter 557 is disposed on at least one side of the second direction Dy in the forklift body 21 (for example, the first side Dy1 in the example of FIG. 25). Each fifth laser displacement meter 557 irradiates a laser on the second side Dy2 in the second direction Dy and measures the distance By to the lateral surface 92 of the reflecting member 93 serving as the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90. In this embodiment, the fifth laser displacement meter 557 also serves as the first laser displacement meter 551. Of course, the fifth laser displacement meter 557 and the first laser displacement meter 551 may be provided separately.

The fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 detect the laser reflected by the forward surface 91 and the side surface 92, which are the reference position display unit 90 on the unmanned forklift side. When the fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 detect the laser reflected by the forward surface 91 and the side surface 92, respectively, they detect the distance to the forward surface 91 and the side surface 92.

The fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 as the position information acquisition unit 53C are configured to operate when the adjustment pallet 50C is supported by the forks 22 of the unmanned forklift 2. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 24, the forks 22 are equipped with a pallet sensor 27 that detects when the adjustment pallet 50C has been picked up. The pallet sensor 27 includes a first pallet sensor 27A that detects when the adjustment pallet 50C hits the forward surface 91 of the forks 22, and a second pallet sensor 27B that detects when the adjustment pallet 50C is placed on the pallet support portion 22a of the forks 22.

The first pallet sensor 27A protrudes from the forward surface 22f and is arranged so as to be able to protrude and retract in the first direction Dx. When the adjustment pallet 50C is picked up, the first pallet sensor 27A is pushed in when the adjustment pallet 50C hits the forward surface 91 of the fork 22, and outputs a signal indicating that the adjustment pallet 50C has been detected. The second pallet sensor 27B protrudes upward from the pallet support portion 22a and is arranged so as to be able to protrude and retract in the vertical direction. When the adjustment pallet 50C is picked up, the second pallet sensor 27B is pushed downward when the adjustment pallet 50C is placed on the pallet support portion 22a, and outputs a signal indicating that the adjustment pallet 50C has been detected. The first pallet sensor 27A and the second pallet sensor 27B transmit the output signals to the displacement gauge controller 58 by wireless communication.
Furthermore, when the adjustment pallet 50C supported by the forks 22 is loaded onto the pallet placement section S, the fork base 22b is displaced downward relative to the adjustment pallet 50C. This causes the second pallet sensor 27B to protrude upward from the pallet support section 22a, and a signal indicating that the adjustment pallet 50C has been unloaded may be transmitted to the displacement gauge controller 58 via wireless communication.

The displacement meter controller 58 controls the operations of the first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, the intermediate laser displacement meter 553, the third laser displacement meter 554, 555, the fourth laser displacement meter 556, and the fifth laser displacement meter 557. When the displacement meter controller 58 receives signals indicating that the adjustment pallet 50C has been unloaded from the first pallet sensor 27A and the second pallet sensor 27B, it activates the fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 to measure the amount of positional deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C with respect to the unmanned forklift 2.
When the displacement meter controller 58 receives a signal from the second pallet sensor 27B indicating that the adjustment pallet 50C has been unloaded onto the pallet mounting section S, it may activate the first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, and the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 to measure the amount of positional deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the rack structure 100.

The data transmission unit 56C outputs data indicating the distances detected by each of the first laser displacement meter 551, the second laser displacement meter 552, the intermediate laser displacement meter 553, and the third laser displacement meter 554, 555 as relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the rack structure 100. The data transmission unit 56C outputs data indicating the distances detected by each of the fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 as relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the data transmission unit 56C transmits the relative position information to the system controller 3C via wireless communication, such as a wireless LAN.

(System Controller Configuration)
The system controller 3C controls the operation of the unmanned forklift 2 in the unmanned forklift adjustment system 10C. The system controller 3C moves the unmanned forklift 2 to a loading position where the pallet 5 is loaded onto the forks 22, or to a loading position where the pallet 5 loaded onto the forks 22 is unloaded. At the loading position, the system controller 3C operates the forks 22 to perform a predetermined loading operation. At the unloading position, the system controller 3C operates the forks 22 to perform a predetermined unloading operation. Based on the relative position information transmitted from the adjustment pallet 50C, the system controller 3C executes a process of calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C from the pallet placement section S at the time of unloading, and a process of calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C from the unmanned forklift 2 at the time of unloading.

(Hardware configuration diagram)
As shown in FIG. 26 , the system controller 3C is a computer including a CPU 301 (Central Processing Unit), a ROM 302 (Read Only Memory), a RAM 303 (Random Access Memory), a storage device 304 such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and a signal receiving module 305.

(Function block diagram)
As shown in FIG. 27, the CPU 301 of the system controller 3C is provided with components such as an input unit 311, a forklift control unit 312, a calculation unit 314, and an output unit 315 by executing a program stored in the system controller 3C in advance.
The input unit 311 is a signal receiving module 305 in terms of hardware, and receives data from the adjustment pallet 50C. The forklift control unit 312 controls the operation of the unmanned forklift 2. The forklift control unit 312 outputs an operation command including position information such as a load pick-up position and a load unloading position to the forklift control unit 23 of the unmanned forklift 2 via wireless communication means such as a wireless LAN. The calculation unit 314 executes a process of calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C from the pallet placement unit S and the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C from the pallet placement unit S based on the relative position information. The calculation unit 314 corrects the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the calculated amount of deviation. The output unit 315 is a signal receiving module 305 in terms of hardware, and transmits a command signal to the unmanned forklift 2 via wireless communication means such as a wireless LAN.

(Initial setup procedure for an unmanned forklift)
As shown in FIG. 28, the initial setting method S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a step S31 of performing advance preparations, a step S32 of moving the unmanned forklift 2 to a home position, a step S33 of unloading the adjustment pallet 50C, a step S34 of acquiring the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2, a step S35 of moving the unmanned forklift 2 to the pallet placement section S, a step S36 of placing the adjustment pallet 50C on the pallet placement section S, a step S37 of acquiring the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the pallet placement section S, a step S38 of unloading the adjustment pallet 50C from the pallet placement section S, a step S39 of acquiring the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2, a step S40 of checking whether acquisition of the amounts of deviation in all pallet placement sections S has been completed, and a step S41 of correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift.

In advance preparation step S31, a reflective member 93 is attached to the unmanned forklift 2. In addition, an operation program including information such as the home position of the unmanned forklift 2, the position information (position coordinates) of each pallet placement section S of the rack structure 100, and the movement path of the unmanned forklift 2 is set in the system controller 3C.

In step S32 of moving the unmanned forklift 2 to the home position, first, the unmanned forklift 2 is moved to the home position under the control of the system controller 3C. The home position is set to a position other than the rack structure 100. The adjustment pallet 50C is placed in the home position.

In step S33 of picking up the adjustment pallet 50C, the adjustment pallet 50C is picked up by the forks 22 of the unmanned forklift 2 that has been moved to the home position. When picking up the adjustment pallet 50C, the first pallet sensor 27A and the second pallet sensor 27B are pushed in by the adjustment pallet 50C, and the first pallet sensor 27A and the second pallet sensor 27B transmit a signal indicating that the adjustment pallet 50C has been picked up to the displacement gauge controller 58 via wireless communication. The displacement gauge controller 58 then executes step S34.

In step S34, which acquires the amount of misalignment of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2, the displacement meter controller 58 activates the fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 to measure the amount of misalignment of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2. The fourth laser displacement meter 556 measures the distances Bx1 and Bx2 to the forward surface 91 of the fork 22 by irradiating the forward surface 91 with a laser. The fifth laser displacement meter 557 measures the distance By to the lateral surface 92 of the reflecting member 93. The amount of misalignment of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2 is detected from the distances Bx1 and Bx2 to the forward surface 91 and the distance By to the lateral surface 92. At this time, when measuring the distance By to the lateral surface 92 of the reflecting member 93 with the fifth laser displacement meter 557, the fork 22 is lowered as necessary to bring the fifth laser displacement meter 557 of the adjustment pallet 50C into opposition to the reflecting member 93.

In step S34, the data on the distances Bx1, Bx2 to the forward surface 91 and the distance By to the side surface 92 detected by the fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 are transmitted as relative position information by the data transmission unit 56C to the system controller 3C. The input unit 311 of the system controller 3C receives the data on the distances Bx1, Bx2, and By as relative position information. The calculation unit 314 of the system controller 3C calculates the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C from the unmanned forklift 2 at the home position based on the distances Bx1, Bx2, and By. In addition, if the forks 22 are tilted and inclined diagonally upward toward the tips, the forks 22 are returned to a horizontal position.

In step S35, which moves the unmanned forklift 2 to the pallet placement section S, the unmanned forklift 2 holding the adjustment pallet 50C picked up at the home position is moved to the pallet placement section S that is set to perform initial settings first among the multiple pallet placement sections S set in the multiple rack structures 100 in the facility. To do this, the position coordinates of the pallet placement section S are transmitted to the unmanned forklift 2 as a destination in response to a command from the system controller 3C. The unmanned forklift 2 moves toward the destination pallet placement section S along the route R with the adjustment pallet 50C loaded on the forks 22.

In step S36 of placing the adjustment pallet 50C on the pallet placement section S, the adjustment pallet 50C is placed (unloaded) on the pallet placement section S that is the target for initial setting. To do this, the direction of the unmanned forklift 2 that has arrived at the destination pallet placement section S is changed so that it faces the pallet placement section S. Next, the unmanned forklift 2 raises and lowers the forks 22 to adjust the height of the adjustment pallet 50C mounted on the forks 22 to the height of the destination pallet placement section S. The unmanned forklift 2 advances from the first side Dx1 (route R side) of the first direction Dx toward the second side, and the loaded adjustment pallet 50C is placed on the pallet placement section S at the position coordinates of the destination pallet placement section S.

In step S37, which acquires the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the pallet placement section S, the position information acquisition section 53C acquires relative position information between the placed adjustment pallet 50C and the rack structure 100 using multiple laser displacement meters 55C. To do this, first, as shown in FIG. 15, the first laser displacement meter 551 detects the distance L11 to the reflector 105 provided on the front support 102F. If the first laser displacement meter 551 cannot detect the reflection from the reflector 105, the second laser displacement meter 552 or the intermediate laser displacement meter 553 may detect the reflection from the reflector 105 to detect the distance to the reflector 105 located on the rear support 102R or the front support 102F.

Further, the third laser displacement meters 554, 555 detect distances L12, L13 to the reflecting portion 105 provided on the rear beam material 103R. In step S37, the position information acquisition unit 53C non-contactly measures the distances L11, L12, L13 to the rack structure 100 on which the adjustment pallet 50C is placed as relative position information.
In step S37, the data on the distances L11, L12, and L13 detected by the first laser displacement meter 551 and the third laser displacement meter 554, 555 are transmitted as relative position information by the data transmission unit 56C to the system controller 3C. The system controller 3C receives the data on the distances L11, L12, and L13 as relative position information by the input unit 311.

In step S37, which acquires the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the pallet mounting portion S, similar to the first embodiment described above, the calculation unit 314 acquires (detects) the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C placed on the rack structure 100 relative to the pallet mounting portion S based on the relative position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 53C.

In step S38, in which the adjustment pallet 50C is removed from the pallet placement section S, the adjustment pallet 50C placed on the pallet placement section S is removed by the forks 22 of the unmanned forklift 2. When the adjustment pallet 50C is removed, the first pallet sensor 27A and the second pallet sensor 27B are pushed in by the adjustment pallet 50C, and the first pallet sensor 27A and the second pallet sensor 27B transmit a signal indicating that the adjustment pallet 50C has been detected to the displacement gauge controller 58 via wireless communication. The displacement gauge controller 58 then executes step S39.

In step S39, which acquires the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2, the displacement meter controller 58 operates the fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557, as in step S34, to measure the amount of positional deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2 when the load is picked up by the pallet placement unit S. The fourth laser displacement meter 556 measures the distances Bx1 and Bx2 to the forward surface 91 of the fork 22 by irradiating the forward surface 91 with a laser. The fifth laser displacement meter 557 measures the distance By to the lateral surface 92 of the reflecting member 93. The amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2 is acquired from the distances Bx1 and Bx2 to the forward surface 91 and the distance By to the lateral surface 92.

At this time, when the fifth laser displacement meter 557 measures the distance By to the lateral surface 92 of the reflecting member 93, the fork 22 is lowered as necessary to make the fifth laser displacement meter 557 of the adjustment pallet 50C face the reflecting member 93. In step S39, the data of the distances Bx1 and Bx2 to the forward surface 91 and the distance By to the lateral surface 92 detected by the fourth laser displacement meter 556 and the fifth laser displacement meter 557 are transmitted as relative position information to the system controller 3C by the data transmission unit 56C. In the system controller 3C, the input unit 311 receives the data of the distances Bx1, Bx2, and By as relative position information. In the system controller 3C, the calculation unit 314 calculates the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2 in the pallet placement unit S based on the distances Bx1, Bx2, and By.

Next, it is confirmed whether acquisition of the amount of deviation for all pallet placement units S has been completed (step S40). As a result, if acquisition of the amount of deviation for all pallet placement units S has not been completed, the process returns to step S35, and the unmanned forklift 2 is moved to the next pallet placement unit S for which initial settings are to be performed. At this time, the unmanned forklift 2 may be moved to the next pallet placement unit S for which initial settings are to be performed, without returning it to the home position.
On the other hand, in step S40, if acquisition of the deviation amounts for all pallet placement units S has been completed, the process proceeds to step S41.

In step S41, the operation program of the unmanned forklift is corrected based on the deviation calculated at each loading position and unloading position. In step S41, the position coordinates of the unmanned forklift 2 and the position coordinates of the pallet placement unit S in the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 are corrected based on the calculated data of the deviation at each loading position and unloading position. At this time, the correction of the position coordinates of the pallet placement unit S in the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 may be performed automatically by the program of the system controller 3C, or the operator of the system controller 3C may manually input a numerical value for correcting the position coordinates of the pallet placement unit S. A numerical value that makes the deviation amount 0 may be input, or the deviation amount may be stored separately and the value may be corrected during control to operate.

(Action and Effect)
In the initial setting method S30 for the unmanned forklift 2 configured as above, the adjustment pallet 50C is actually picked up by the unmanned forklift 2, and the relative position information between the unmanned forklift 2 and the adjustment pallet 50C thus picked up is acquired by the position information acquisition unit 53C. Based on the acquired relative position information, the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2 is calculated. This makes it possible to grasp the amount of deviation when the pallet is picked up by the unmanned forklift 2. By correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the grasped amount of deviation, initial setting can be easily performed when the unmanned forklift 2 is introduced into a facility.

In addition, the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2 is calculated by calculating the amount of deviation in the forward/backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2 relative to the adjustment pallet 50C and the amount of deviation in the width direction of the unmanned forklift 2 that intersects with the forward/backward direction in the horizontal plane.
This makes it possible to obtain the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C in the horizontal plane relative to the unmanned forklift 2.

In addition, by measuring the distances Bx1, Bx2, and By to the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 set on the unmanned forklift 2, relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 can be obtained.

In addition, by setting the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 on the forward surface 91 of the fork 22 and measuring the distances Bx1, Bx2 to the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 set on the unmanned forklift 2, relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 in the forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2 can be obtained.
Furthermore, by setting the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 on a reflective member 93 provided on the forklift body 21 of the unmanned forklift 2 and having a horizontal surface 92 facing in the width direction, relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 in the width direction of the unmanned forklift 2 can be obtained.

In addition, the position information acquisition unit 53C acquires relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2.
This allows the position information acquisition unit 53C to acquire relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2. This makes it possible to grasp the amount of deviation that occurs when the unmanned forklift 2 picks up the pallet. By correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the grasped amount of deviation, initial settings can be easily performed when the unmanned forklift 2 is introduced into a facility.

In addition, by using the fourth laser displacement meter 556 to measure the distances Bx1 and Bx2 to the forward surface 91 of the fork 22, relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 in the forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2 can be obtained. In addition, by using the fifth laser displacement meter 557 to measure the distance Dy to the reflective member 93 having the lateral surface 92 of the unmanned forklift 2, relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 in the width direction of the unmanned forklift 2 can be obtained. Therefore, the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C in the horizontal plane relative to the unmanned forklift 2 can be obtained.

In the adjustment system 10C for the unmanned forklift 2 as described above, the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2 is calculated based on the relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 acquired by the position information acquisition unit 53C.
This makes it possible to grasp the amount of deviation when a pallet is picked up by the unmanned forklift 2. By correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the grasped amount of deviation, it is possible to easily perform initial settings when introducing the unmanned forklift 2 into a facility.

In addition, the unmanned forklift 2 is equipped with a pallet sensor 27 that detects that the adjustment pallet 50C has been picked up, and when the pallet sensor 27 detects that the adjustment pallet 50C has been picked up, it begins acquiring relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2.
As a result, when the pallet sensor 27 detects that the adjustment pallet 50C has been picked up, it is possible to automatically start obtaining relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2.

As in the above embodiment, when the unmanned forklift 2 is introduced to the facility, the adjustment pallet 50C is actually placed on the pallet placement section S of the rack structure 100 by the unmanned forklift 2. The relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C placed on the pallet placement section S and the rack structure 100 is acquired by the position information acquisition section 53C. Based on the acquired relative position information, the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the pallet placement section S is calculated. This makes it possible to grasp the amount of deviation when the pallet 5 carrying the goods is placed on the pallet placement section S of the rack structure 100 by the unmanned forklift 2. By correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the grasped amount of deviation, the initial setting when the unmanned forklift 2 is introduced to the facility can be easily performed. In addition, since the position information acquisition unit 53C is provided on the adjustment pallet 50C, there is no need to provide a sensor or the like on the rack structure 100 side for detecting the amount of deviation from the adjustment pallet 50C in each of the multiple pallet placement units S set on the rack structure 100. Therefore, the unmanned forklift 2 can be easily introduced, and the time and cost required for test runs before official operation can be reduced.

Other Embodiments
Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like that do not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure are also included.
In the above embodiment, the data of the calculated deviation amount in steps S14 and S24 is output to the system controller 3 via wireless communication, but this is not limited to this. For example, the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 may be corrected by an operator manually inputting the data of the deviation amount calculated by the processing terminals 60A and 60B into the system controller 3.
In the first and second embodiments, the processing terminals 60A, 60B and the system controller 3 may be integrated into one structure.

In addition, in the first and third embodiments, the position information acquisition units 53A and 53C are configured to include a plurality of laser displacement meters 55, but the number and locations of the sensors can be changed as appropriate.
In the second embodiment, the position information acquisition unit 53B is configured to include the camera 57. However, the installation position of the camera 57 can be changed as appropriate as long as it can capture an image of the reference position display unit M.
In the above embodiment, the marks M1 and M2 are provided as the reference position display section M, but the shape, size, number, arrangement, etc. can be changed as appropriate. For example, instead of providing the marks M1, M2, etc. as the reference position display section M, it is also possible to adopt, as the reference position display section M, a specific portion of the rack structure 100 that has a constant positional relationship with each pallet placement section S (for example, a joint between the support 102 and the beam material 103, etc.).

<Additional Notes>
The initial setting methods S11, S21, and S30 of the unmanned forklift 2, the adjustment pallets 50A to 50C, and the adjustment system of the unmanned forklift 2 described in each embodiment can be understood, for example, as follows.

(1) The initial setting methods S11, S21, S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 according to the first aspect are initial setting methods S11, S21, S30 used when introducing an unmanned forklift 2 into a facility equipped with a rack structure 100, and include steps S12, S22, S36 of placing adjustment pallets 50A-50C on the pallet mounting section S of the rack structure 100 by the unmanned forklift 2 based on a preset operating program, steps S13, S23 of acquiring relative position information between the adjustment pallets 50A-50C and the rack structure 100 by position information acquisition units 53A, 53C equipped on the adjustment pallets 50A-50C, and steps S14, S24 of calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallets 50A-50C placed on the rack structure 100 from the pallet mounting section S based on the relative position information.
Examples of facilities include warehouses, factories, commercial buildings, and cargo handling facilities.

In the initial setting methods S11, S21, and S30 of the unmanned forklift 2, when the unmanned forklift 2 is introduced into a facility equipped with a rack structure 100, the unmanned forklift 2 actually places the adjustment pallets 50A to 50C on the pallet placement section S of the rack structure 100. The position information acquisition section 53A acquires relative position information between the adjustment pallets 50A to 50C placed on the pallet placement section S and the rack structure 100. Based on the acquired relative position information, the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallets 50A to 50C relative to the pallet placement section S is calculated. This makes it possible to grasp the amount of deviation when the unmanned forklift 2 places a pallet carrying an article on the pallet placement section S of the rack structure 100. By correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the grasped amount of deviation, the initial setting when the unmanned forklift 2 is introduced into the facility can be easily performed. In addition, since the position information acquisition units 53A-53C are provided on the adjustment pallets 50A-50C, there is no need to provide sensors or the like on the rack structure 100 side for detecting the amount of deviation between the adjustment pallets 50A-50C and each of the multiple pallet placement units S set on the rack structure 100. This makes it easy to introduce the unmanned forklift 2, and reduces the time and costs required for test runs before official operation.

(2) The initial setting method S11, S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 according to the second aspect is the initial setting method S11, S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 according to (1), and in steps S13, S37 of acquiring position information, the position information acquisition units 53A, 53C non-contactly measure the distance to the rack structure 100 on which the adjustment pallets 50A, 50C are placed as relative position information.

Thus, the position information acquiring units 53A and 53C are adapted to measure the distance to the rack structure 100 in a non-contact manner as the relative position information. This makes it possible to easily and quickly acquire the relative position information.
Examples of non-contact measurement of the distance to the rack structure 100 using the position information acquisition units 53A, 53C include a laser displacement meter 55 that measures the distance to the rack structure 100 by irradiating the rack structure 100 with a laser, and a distance measuring device that uses ultrasound, infrared rays, etc.

(3) The initial setting methods S11 and S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 according to the third aspect are the initial setting methods S11 and S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 in (2), and in the calculation step S14, the amount of deviation is calculated as the amount of deviation ΔX in the first direction Dx along the forward and backward movement direction of the unmanned forklift 2 relative to the rack structure 100, and the amount of deviation ΔY in the second direction Dy that intersects with the first direction Dx in the horizontal plane.

This allows the deviations ΔX and ΔY of the adjustment pallets 50A and 50C in the horizontal plane relative to the pallet placement section S to be obtained.

(4) The initial setting methods S11 and S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 according to the fourth aspect are the initial setting methods S11 and S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 of (3), and in the calculation steps S14 and S37, the deviation amount Δθ of the rotation direction Dc around the vertical axis is further calculated as the deviation amount.

This makes it possible to obtain the deviation Δθ of the rotation direction Dc of the adjustment pallets 50A, 50C around the vertical axis relative to the pallet placement section S. By obtaining the deviation Δθ of the rotation direction Dc in addition to the deviations ΔX, ΔY in the horizontal plane, it becomes possible to correct the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 with higher accuracy.

(5) The initial setting method S21 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to the fifth aspect is the initial setting method S21 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to (1), and in step S23 of acquiring position information, the position information acquisition unit 53B captures an image 300 including a reference position display unit M that is set on the rack structure 100 and indicates the rack side reference position in the rack structure 100 as relative position information, and in step S24 of calculating, based on the relative position information, calculates the amount of deviation of the rack side reference position Q2 in the image 300 relative to the pallet side reference position Pt set on the adjustment pallet 50B.

As a result, the position information acquisition unit 53B can capture an image 300 including the reference position display unit M set on the rack structure 100 as relative position information, thereby calculating the amount of deviation of the rack side reference position Q2 in the image 300 relative to the pallet side reference position Pt set on the adjustment pallet 50B.

(6) The initial setting method S21 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to the sixth aspect is the initial setting method S21 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to (5), and in step S23 of acquiring position information, the position information acquisition unit 53B captures an image 300 including the marks M1 and M2 set as the reference position display unit M on the rack structure 100. In step S24 of calculating, the amount of deviation is calculated as the deviation amount ΔX of the pallet side reference position Pt relative to the marks M1 and M2 in the first direction Dx along the forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2 relative to the rack structure 100, and the deviation amount ΔY in the second direction Dy intersecting the first direction Dx in the horizontal plane.

As a result, by setting marks M1 and M2 as the reference position display section M on the rack structure 100, it is possible to obtain the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50B in the horizontal plane relative to the pallet placement section S.

(7) The initial setting method S21 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to the seventh aspect is the initial setting method S21 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to (6), in which in step S23 of acquiring relative position information, images of multiple marks M1, M2 set on the rack structure 100 are photographed, and in step S24 of calculating, the deviation amount Δθc of the rotational direction Dc around the vertical axis of the pallet side reference position Pt relative to the multiple marks M1, M2 is further calculated.

By setting multiple marks M1 and M2 as the reference position display section M on the rack structure 100, it is possible to obtain the deviation amount Δθc in the rotation direction Dc of the adjustment pallet 50B in addition to the deviation amount in the horizontal plane relative to the pallet placement section S. This makes it possible to correct the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 with higher accuracy.

(8) The initial setting method S30 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to the eighth aspect is any one of the initial setting methods S30 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to (1) to (7), and further includes steps S33 and S38 of loading the adjustment pallet 50C with the unmanned forklift 2 based on a preset operation program, steps S34 and S39 of acquiring relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 by a position information acquisition unit 53C provided in the adjustment pallet 50C, and steps S34 and S39 of calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C with respect to the unmanned forklift 2 based on the relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2.

In this manner, the adjustment pallet 50C is actually picked up by the unmanned forklift 2, and the relative position information between the picked up adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 is acquired by the position information acquisition unit 53C. Based on the acquired relative position information, the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2 is calculated. This makes it possible to grasp the amount of deviation that occurs when the unmanned forklift 2 picks up the pallet 5. By correcting the operating program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the grasped amount of deviation, initial settings can be easily made when introducing the unmanned forklift 2 to a facility.

(9) The initial setting method S30 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to the ninth aspect is the initial setting method S30 for the unmanned forklift 2 of (8), and in steps S34 and S39 for calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2, the amount of deviation in the forward/backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2 relative to the adjustment pallet 50C and the amount of deviation in the width direction of the unmanned forklift 2 that intersects with the forward/backward direction in the horizontal plane are calculated.

This allows the amount of misalignment of the adjustment pallet 50C in the horizontal plane relative to the unmanned forklift 2 to be obtained.

(10) The initial setting method S30 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to the tenth aspect is the initial setting method S30 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to (8) or (9), and in steps S34 and S37 for acquiring relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2, the position information acquisition unit 53C measures the distances Bx1, Bx2, and By to the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90, which is set on the unmanned forklift 2 and indicates the unmanned forklift side reference position on the unmanned forklift 2, as the relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2.

This makes it possible to obtain relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 by measuring the distances Bx1, Bx2, and By to the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 set on the unmanned forklift 2.

(11) The initial setting method S30 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to the eleventh aspect is the initial setting method S30 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to (10), in which the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 is provided in the unmanned forklift 2 so as to be movable up and down relative to the forklift body 21, and is set on the forward surface 91 of the fork 22 supporting the adjustment pallet 50C, which faces forward in the forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2.

By setting the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 on the forward surface 91 of the fork 22 and measuring the distances Bx1 and Bx2 to the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 set on the unmanned forklift 2, it is possible to obtain relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 in the forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2.

(12) The initial setting method S30 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to the twelfth aspect is the initial setting method S30 for the unmanned forklift 2 according to (10) or (11), in which the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 is provided on the forklift body 21 of the unmanned forklift 2 and is set on a reflective member 93 having a lateral surface 92 facing in the width direction.

By setting the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 on a reflective member 93 having a horizontal surface 92 facing the width direction and provided on the forklift body 21 of the unmanned forklift 2, and measuring the distance By to the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit 90 set on the unmanned forklift 2, it is possible to obtain relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 in the width direction of the unmanned forklift 2.

(13) The initial setting method S11, S21, S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 according to the thirteenth aspect is any one of the initial setting methods S11, S21, S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 according to (1) to (12), and further includes steps S15, S25, S41 of correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the calculated deviation amount.

As a result, the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 is corrected based on the calculated deviation of the adjustment pallets 50A-50C from the pallet placement section S, and after the correction, the unmanned forklift 2 operating based on the operation program can unload the pallet onto the pallet placement section S with high accuracy.

(14) The adjustment pallet 50A according to the fourteenth aspect is an adjustment pallet 50A-50C used in any one of the initial setting methods S11, S21, S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 according to (1) to (13), and includes a pallet body 51A that can be supported by the forks 22 of the unmanned forklift 2 and placed on the rack structure 100, and a position information acquisition unit 53A-53C provided on the pallet body 51A for acquiring relative position information with respect to the rack structure 100 on which the adjustment pallet 50A-50C is placed.

By using such adjustment pallets 50A-50C, the above-mentioned initial setting methods S11, S21, and S30 of the unmanned forklift 2 can be implemented. Since the position information acquisition units 53A-53C are provided on the adjustment pallets 50A-50C, there is no need to provide a sensor or the like on the rack structure 100 side for detecting the amount of deviation from the adjustment pallets 50A-50C in each of the multiple pallet placement units S set on the rack structure 100. This makes it easy to introduce the unmanned forklift 2, and reduces the time and cost required for test runs before official operation.

(15) The adjustment pallets 50A and 50C according to the fifteenth aspect are the adjustment pallets 50A and 50C of (14), and the position information acquisition units 53A and 53C are equipped with a laser displacement meter 55 that measures the distance to the rack structure 100 by irradiating the rack structure 100 with a laser.

This allows the laser displacement meter 55 to measure the distance to the rack structure 100 in a non-contact manner as relative position information. This makes it possible to easily and quickly obtain relative position information.

(16) The adjustment pallet 50A, 50C according to the 16th aspect is the adjustment pallet 50A, 50C of (15), and the position information acquisition unit 53A, 53C is equipped with a first laser displacement meter 551 that is arranged on a first side Dx1 of a first direction Dx along the forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2 relative to the rack structure 100 and detects a part of the rack structure 100 that is located in a second direction Dy that intersects the first direction Dx in a horizontal plane relative to the pallet body 51A, and a second laser displacement meter 552 that is arranged on a second side Dx2 of the first direction Dx and detects another part of the rack structure 100 that is located in the second direction Dy relative to the pallet body 51A.

This adjustment pallet 50A detects a part of the rack structure 100 with a first laser displacement meter 551 arranged on a first side Dx1 of the first direction Dx, and detects another part of the rack structure 100 with a second laser displacement meter 552 arranged on a second side Dx2 of the first direction Dx. As a result, the positions of the adjustment pallets 50A, 50C in the first direction Dx relative to the rack structure 100 can be obtained as relative position information based on the detection results of the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552.

(17) The adjustment pallets 50A, 50C according to the seventeenth aspect are the adjustment pallets 50A, 50C of (16), in which the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 are provided on both sides of the pallet body 51A in the second direction Dy, and each of the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 is capable of detecting the presence or absence of the rack structure 100 only within a specified distance range.

As a result, since the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 are provided on both sides of the second direction Dy, relative position information of the pallet body 51A with respect to the rack structure 100 can be obtained on both sides of the second direction Dy. At this time, each of the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 can detect the presence or absence of the rack structure 100 only within a specified distance range. In other words, when the distance between the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 and the rack structure 100 on both sides of the second direction Dy is within a range in which the presence of the rack structure 100 can be detected by the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552, the relative position information between the adjustment pallets 50A, 50C and the rack structure 100 can be obtained. When the interval between the members constituting the rack structure 100 located on both sides in the second direction Dy is wide, and the adjustment pallets 50A, 50C are placed on the pallet placement section S on the first side Dy1 in the second direction Dy, the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 arranged on the first side Dy1 in the second direction Dy detect the members of the rack structure 100 on the first side Dy1 in the second direction Dy. Also, when the adjustment pallets 50A, 50C are placed on the pallet placement section S on the second side Dy2 in the second direction Dy, the first laser displacement meter 551 and the second laser displacement meter 552 arranged on the second side Dy2 in the second direction Dy detect the members of the rack structure 100 on the second side Dy2 in the second direction Dy. In this way, with one adjustment pallet 50A, 50C, it is possible to obtain the amount of misalignment of the adjustment pallet 50A, 50C on both the pallet mounting portion S on the first side Dy1 in the second direction Dy and the pallet mounting portion S on the second side Dy2 in the second direction Dy.

(18) The adjustment pallet 50A, 50C according to the 18th aspect is the adjustment pallet 50A of (17), and the position information acquisition unit 53A, 53C further includes a third laser displacement meter 555 that emits a laser toward the second side Dx2 of the first direction Dx along the forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2 relative to the rack structure 100.

The third laser displacement meter 555 of the adjustment pallets 50A, 50C emits a laser toward the second side Dx2 of the first direction Dx along the forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2. This allows the third laser displacement meter 555 to detect the presence of members of the rack structure 100 located diagonally below the second side Dx2 of the first direction Dx of the adjustment pallets 50A, 50C. This allows information on the relative position of the rack structure 100 with respect to the members of the rack structure 100 located diagonally below the second side Dx2 of the first direction Dx of the adjustment pallets 50A, 50C to be obtained.

(19) The adjustment pallet 50B according to the 19th aspect is the adjustment pallet 50B of (14), and the position information acquisition unit 53B is equipped with a camera 57 that captures images of the marks M1 and M2 set on the rack structure 100.

As a result, the camera 57 of the position information acquisition unit 53A can capture an image 300 including the marks M1 and M2, thereby obtaining the amount of misalignment of the adjustment pallet 50B relative to the pallet placement unit S.

(20) The adjustment pallet 50C according to the twentieth aspect is any one of the adjustment pallets 50C (14) to (19), and the position information acquisition unit 53C acquires relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2.

As a result, the position information acquisition unit 53C can acquire relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2. Therefore, it is possible to grasp the amount of deviation when the unmanned forklift 2 picks up the pallet. By correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the grasped amount of deviation, it is possible to easily perform initial settings when introducing the unmanned forklift 2 to a facility.

(21) The adjustment pallet 50C according to the 21st aspect is the adjustment pallet 50C according to (20), and the position information acquisition unit 53C includes a fourth laser displacement meter 556 that measures the distance to a forward surface 91 of the fork 22 that faces forward in the forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2 when supported by the fork 22 of the unmanned forklift 2, and a fifth laser displacement meter 557 that is provided on the forklift body 21 of the unmanned forklift 2 and measures the distance to a reflective member 93 having a lateral surface 92 that faces in the width direction.

As a result, by measuring the distance to the forward surface 91 of the fork 22 with the fourth laser displacement meter 556, it is possible to obtain relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 in the forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift 2. Also, by measuring the distance to the reflective member 93 having the lateral surface 92 of the unmanned forklift 2 with the fifth laser displacement meter 557, it is possible to obtain relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 in the width direction of the unmanned forklift 2. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C in the horizontal plane relative to the unmanned forklift 2.

(22) The adjustment system 10A-10C for the unmanned forklift 2 according to the 22nd aspect includes an adjustment pallet 50A-50C selected from any one of (14) to (21) and a calculation unit 72A, 72B, 314 that calculates the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50A-50C placed on the rack structure 100 relative to the pallet placement unit S based on the relative position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 53A-53C.

This unmanned forklift 2 adjustment system can calculate the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallets 50A-50C placed on the rack structure 100 from the pallet placement section S by the calculation units 72A, 72B, 314 based on the relative position information between the adjustment pallets 50A-50C and the rack structure 100 acquired by the position information acquisition units 53A-53C of the adjustment pallets 50A-50C. This makes it easy to introduce the unmanned forklift 2, and reduces the time and costs required for test runs before official operation.

(23) The adjustment system 10C for the unmanned forklift 2 according to the 23rd aspect is the adjustment system 10C for the unmanned forklift 2 of (22), in which the calculation unit 314 calculates the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet 50C relative to the unmanned forklift 2 based on the relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2 acquired by the position information acquisition unit 53C.

This makes it possible to grasp the amount of misalignment that occurs when the unmanned forklift 2 picks up a pallet. By correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift 2 based on the grasped amount of misalignment, initial settings can be easily performed when introducing the unmanned forklift 2 to a facility.

(24) The adjustment system 10C for the unmanned forklift 2 according to the 24th aspect is the adjustment system 10C for the unmanned forklift 2 of (23), in which the unmanned forklift 2 is equipped with a pallet sensor 27 that detects that the adjustment pallet 50C has been picked up, and when the pallet sensor 27 detects that the adjustment pallet 50C has been picked up, it starts acquiring relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2.

As a result, when the pallet sensor 27 detects that the adjustment pallet 50C has been picked up, it can automatically start acquiring relative position information between the adjustment pallet 50C and the unmanned forklift 2.

1...Unmanned transport forklift system 2...Unmanned forklift 3, 3C...System controller 10A to 10C...Adjustment system 21...Forklift body 21s Straddle leg 22...Fork 23...Forklift control unit 27A...First pallet sensor (pallet sensor)
27B...Second pallet sensor (pallet sensor)
50A to 50C...Adjustment pallet 51A, 51B...Pallet body 51k...Notched recess 52...Insertion holes 53A to 53C...Position information acquisition unit 55, 55C...Laser displacement meter 551...First laser displacement meter 552...Second laser displacement meter 553...Intermediate laser displacement meter 554, 555...Third laser displacement meter 556...Fourth laser displacement meter 557...Fifth laser displacement meter 56, 56C...Data transmission unit 57...Camera 58...Displacement meter controller 59...Support member 60A, 60B...Processing terminal 61, 301...CPU
62, 302...ROM
63, 303...RAM
64, 304...Memory device 65, 305...Signal transmission/reception module 71...Input section 72A, 72B...Calculation section 73...Output section 90...Unmanned forklift side reference position display section 91...Forward surface 92...Side surface 93...Reflecting member 100...Rack structure 100b...Lower layer 100m...Middle layer 100t...Upper layer 102...Support 102F...Front support 102R...Rear support 103...Beam material 103F...Front beam material 103R...Rear beam material 103S...Side beam material 105...Reflecting section 200...Pallet position adjustment table 201...Adjustment table main body 202...Spherical roller 300 ...Image Dc...Rotational direction Dc...Circumferential direction Dv...Up-down direction Dx...First direction Dx1...First side Dx2...Second side Dy...Second direction Dy1...First side Dy2...Second side F...Floor surface Bx1, Bx2, By...Distance L11...Distance L12...Distance L13...Distance M...Reference position display unit M1...Mark M2...Mark Ps, Pt...Pallet side reference position Q1, Q2...Rack side reference position R...Path S, SL, SR...Pallet placement unit S11, S21, S30...Initial setting method for unmanned forklift S12, S22...Step S13 of placing adjustment pallet on pallet placement unit , S23...Steps for acquiring relative position information S14, S24...Steps for calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet relative to the pallet placement section S15, S25...Step for correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift S31...Step for performing advance preparations S32...Step for moving the unmanned forklift to the home position S33...Step for picking up the adjustment pallet S34...Step for acquiring the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet relative to the unmanned forklift S35...Step for moving the unmanned forklift to the pallet placement section S36...Step for placing the adjustment pallet on the pallet placement section S37...Step for acquiring the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet relative to the pallet placement section S38...Step for picking up the adjustment pallet from the pallet placement section S39...Step for acquiring the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet relative to the unmanned forklift S40...Step for checking whether acquisition of the amount of deviation for all pallet placement sections has been completed S41...Step for correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift ΔX...Amount of deviation in the first direction ΔY...Amount of deviation in the second direction Δθ, Δθc...Amount of deviation in the rotational direction

Claims (24)

An initial setting method for introducing an unmanned forklift into a facility equipped with a rack structure, comprising:
placing an adjustment pallet on a pallet placement portion of the rack structure by the unmanned forklift based on a preset operation program;
acquiring relative position information between the adjustment pallet and the rack structure by a position information acquisition unit included in the adjustment pallet;
calculating a deviation amount of the adjustment pallet placed on the rack structure with respect to the pallet placement portion based on the relative position information;
Including how to initially set up an unmanned forklift. In the step of acquiring the position information, the position information acquisition unit measures a distance between the adjustment pallet and the rack structure on which the adjustment pallet is placed, as the relative position information.
The method for initial setting of an unmanned forklift according to claim 1. In the calculation step, the deviation amount is calculated as follows:
A deviation amount in a first direction along a forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift relative to the rack structure;
and a deviation amount in a second direction intersecting the first direction in a horizontal plane. In the calculation step, the deviation amount is calculated as follows:
The method for initial setting of an unmanned forklift according to claim 3, further comprising the step of calculating an amount of deviation in a rotational direction about a vertical axis. In the step of acquiring the position information, the position information acquisition unit captures an image including a reference position display unit that is set in the rack structure and indicates a rack side reference position in the rack structure, as the relative position information;
2. The initial setting method for an unmanned forklift according to claim 1, wherein in the calculating step, a deviation amount of the rack-side reference position in the image with respect to a pallet-side reference position set on the adjustment pallet is calculated based on the relative position information. In the step of acquiring the position information, the image including a mark installed as the reference position display unit on the rack structure is captured,
In the calculation step, the deviation amount is calculated as follows:
A deviation amount in a first direction along a forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift relative to the rack structure;
and a deviation amount in a second direction intersecting the first direction in a horizontal plane. In the step of acquiring the relative position information, a plurality of marks set on the rack structure are photographed,
The method for initial setting an unmanned forklift according to claim 6, wherein in the calculating step, a deviation amount in a rotation direction about a vertical axis is further calculated based on a positional relationship between the pallet side reference position and the plurality of marks. A step of loading the adjustment pallet with the unmanned forklift based on a preset operation program;
A step of acquiring relative position information between the adjustment pallet and the unmanned forklift by a position information acquisition unit provided in the adjustment pallet;
The initial setting method for an unmanned forklift according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: calculating an amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet with respect to the unmanned forklift based on relative position information between the adjustment pallet and the unmanned forklift. In the step of calculating the amount of deviation of the adjustment pallet with respect to the unmanned forklift,
A deviation amount of the unmanned forklift in a forward/backward direction relative to the adjustment pallet; and
and a deviation amount in a width direction of the unmanned forklift that intersects with the forward and backward direction in a horizontal plane. 10. The unmanned forklift initial setting method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein in the step of acquiring relative position information between the adjustment pallet and the unmanned forklift, the position information acquisition unit measures a distance to an unmanned forklift side reference position display unit that is set on the unmanned forklift and indicates an unmanned forklift side reference position of the unmanned forklift, as the relative position information between the adjustment pallet and the unmanned forklift. The unmanned forklift initial setting method according to claim 10, wherein the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit is provided on the unmanned forklift so as to be movable up and down relative to a forklift body, and is set on a forward-facing surface of a fork supporting the adjustment pallet that faces forward in the forward and backward movement direction of the unmanned forklift. The unmanned forklift initial setting method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the unmanned forklift side reference position display unit is provided on a forklift body of the unmanned forklift and is set on a reflective member having a lateral surface facing in a width direction of the unmanned forklift. The method for initial setting an unmanned forklift according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising the step of correcting the operation program of the unmanned forklift based on the calculated deviation amount. An adjustment pallet used in the initial setting method for an unmanned forklift according to any one of claims 1 to 13,
A pallet body that can be supported by the forks of the unmanned forklift and placed on a rack structure;
an adjustment pallet comprising: a position information acquisition unit that is provided on the pallet body and acquires relative position information between the adjustment pallet and the rack structure on which the adjustment pallet is placed. The adjustment pallet according to claim 14 , wherein the position information acquisition unit includes a laser displacement meter that measures a distance to the rack structure by irradiating the rack structure with a laser. The location information acquisition unit
A first laser displacement meter that is disposed on a first side of a first direction along a direction in which the unmanned forklift moves forward and backward relative to the rack structure and detects a part of the rack structure that is located in a second direction that intersects with the first direction in a horizontal plane relative to the pallet body;
The adjustment pallet described in claim 15, further comprising: a second laser displacement meter arranged on a second side of the first direction and detecting another part of the rack structure located in the second direction relative to the pallet body. The first laser displacement meter and the second laser displacement meter are provided on both sides of the pallet body in the second direction,
The adjustment pallet according to claim 16 , wherein each of the first laser displacement meter and the second laser displacement meter is capable of detecting the presence or absence of the rack structure only within a predetermined distance range. The location information acquisition unit
The adjustment pallet of claim 17, further comprising a third laser displacement meter that emits a laser toward a second side in a first direction along the advancement and retreat direction of the unmanned forklift relative to the rack structure. The adjustment pallet according to claim 14 , wherein the position information acquisition unit includes a camera that photographs a mark set on the rack structure. The adjustment pallet according to claim 14 , wherein the position information acquisition unit acquires relative position information between the adjustment pallet and the unmanned forklift. The location information acquisition unit
a fourth laser displacement meter that measures a distance to a front surface of the fork that faces forward in a forward and backward direction of the unmanned forklift while being supported by the fork of the unmanned forklift;
The adjustment pallet according to claim 20, further comprising: a fifth laser displacement meter provided on a forklift body of the unmanned forklift, the fifth laser displacement meter configured to measure a distance to a reflective member having a lateral surface facing in the width direction of the unmanned forklift. A pallet for adjustment according to any one of claims 14 to 21;
a calculation unit that calculates a deviation amount of the adjustment pallet placed on the rack structure with respect to the pallet placement portion based on the relative position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit. The unmanned forklift adjustment system according to claim 22, wherein the calculation unit calculates a deviation amount of the adjustment pallet with respect to the unmanned forklift based on relative position information between the adjustment pallet and the unmanned forklift acquired by the position information acquisition unit. The unmanned forklift includes a pallet sensor that detects when the adjustment pallet is picked up,
The unmanned forklift adjustment system according to claim 23, wherein when the pallet sensor detects that the adjustment pallet has been picked up, acquisition of relative position information between the adjustment pallet and the unmanned forklift is started.

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